Playing a brass instrument after total laryngectomy: A case report

✍ Scribed by Andrea Luigi Cavalot; Antonio Schindler; Elsa Juliani; Oskar Schindler; Giorgio Cortesina

• Book ID: 102235702
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 173 KB
• Volume: 31
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1043-3074
• DOI: 10.1002/hed.20994

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Background

A brass instrument is a musical instrument in which the tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular resonator. The case of a professional brass player who continued his activity after total laryngectomy, with insertion of a voice prosthesis in a tracheoesophageal shunt, is reported.

Methods

A videoendoscopic and videofluoroscopic study of the patient during brass playing was conducted.

Results

A nonvibrating, open neoglottis during brass playing was found on videoendoscopy. Videofluorography revealed an enlarged hypopharynx, a thick neoglottis while playing at lower tone; at higher pitch the tongue base was retracted, the neoglottis was thin and stretched, and the subneoglottic area was extremely enlarged.

Conclusion

The case reported shows that the insertion of a voice prosthesis in a tracheoesophageal shunt seems to create a regulating airflow system sufficiently advanced to play a brass instrument, further reducing the disability of laryngeal speakers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2009